Unpatched macOS Flaw Allows Code Execution, Root Access
A researcher who specializes in hacking Apple’s iOS operating system has made public the details of an unpatched vulnerability in macOS that can be exploited to take complete control of a system.
The details of the exploit and proof-of-concept (PoC) code were made public on the first day of 2018 – or the last day of 2017, depending on where you are located in the world – by a researcher who uses the online moniker Siguza (s1guza). An attacker who has access to a system can leverage the vulnerability, which the expert has described as a “zero day,” to execute arbitrary code and obtain root permissions.
This local privilege escalation (LPE) vulnerability affects IOHIDFamily, a kernel extension designed for human interface devices (HID), such as a touchscreen or buttons. While trying to discover flaws that would let him hack the iOS kernel, Siguza noticed that some components of this extension, specifically IOHIDSystem, exist only on macOS, which led him to identify a potentially serious security hole.
